I mentioned a few weeks back that the presentation at our local homebrew club meeting was holiday beers. This beer was one of the samples, and I knew I had to pic up a bottle. As I learned that the Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson, had written about this beer – the strongest lager in the world, at 14% ABV, it is aged for a year from St. Nicholas day. The bottle reaffirms hist story, saying, “Bottled only once a year on December 6, Samichlaus is aged for 10 months before bottling. This specialty is perhaps the rarest in the world. Samichlaus may be aged for many years to come. Older vintages become more complex with a creamy warming finish.”
It was reddish-amber in color and extremely clear. I was surprised by the amount of carbonation in it, yet it had no head. The aroma was extremely malty and caramelly, much like a strong marzen. However, there were some light raisin and dark fruit smells, as well as a slight bit of a fusal alcohol aroma.
Obviously, at 14% ABV, it was full bodied, but it was very smooth, almost lightly syrupy. The flavor was super sweet and fruity up front, followed by very sweet raisin and caramel flavors with a dose of alcohol flavors and warmth in finish. The sweetness was a bit cloying along with the alcohol flavors.
At 14% ABV you should definitely drink this with some sort of food. However, I would make this beer the centerpiece of the sitting, and not the food. Therefore, I might recommend enjoying this with something that might help to soak up the goodness, such as a holiday spicecake.
If you got this beer, I highly recommend sharing it with a friend, as it’s a big beer and finishing the entire bottle took me a little bit. Your friend will also like story behind this beer. I really enjoyed the aroma from it, and the flavors were good, but the sweetness was a bit over the top for me. However, I enjoyed the complex raisin and caramel flavors, and the smoothness of the lager style. Fortunately, I bought a second bottle and intend to age it for a few years to smooth it out even more.
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